Lonerider59
Wizard
It's a crappy day in Northen Michigan so I decided to give a few observations and a bit of wisdom.
Most riders want to make their motorcycle just a bit, or maybe a lot, different than the stocker they bought. When you get down to it, that's part of what makes the sport fun and interesting. The vast majority of riders I have met do it simply to change the bike to match their personality. A few make changes they believe will enhance the performance to match their ability. A damned few actually make performance changes that they can use to the fullest of the bike's capability. Most only imagine they have gotten to the point that their abilities are beyond the stock performance capacity of their motorcycle. That's not necessarily a bad thing as long as they don't get fooled into thinking they can't possibly get into trouble because they haven't gone beyond their own limtations. A track is a track and the road is the road. Anyone who thinks he can ride on a road anywhere close to the way it's safe to ride on the track is just plain nuts and will eventually end up severely maimed or DEAD. There are obstacles on our public roads, in quantity at that, which would never be allowed on a track during a race, and many of those are moving in all kinds of crazy ways. No "track day" or course of riding lessons can possibly prepare a rider for all the possibilities that could be encountered on the street. One reason is not all possibilities have happened, the world is a fluid place.
One last issue. Those parts you add to your bike do not increase it's value. If you want to recoup the value of your parts, take them off and see if you can find someone else who wants the same parts as you once did. All dealers and most knowlegeable riders laugh under their breath when you try to tell them how much more your motorcycle is worth because of the parts you added.
Most riders want to make their motorcycle just a bit, or maybe a lot, different than the stocker they bought. When you get down to it, that's part of what makes the sport fun and interesting. The vast majority of riders I have met do it simply to change the bike to match their personality. A few make changes they believe will enhance the performance to match their ability. A damned few actually make performance changes that they can use to the fullest of the bike's capability. Most only imagine they have gotten to the point that their abilities are beyond the stock performance capacity of their motorcycle. That's not necessarily a bad thing as long as they don't get fooled into thinking they can't possibly get into trouble because they haven't gone beyond their own limtations. A track is a track and the road is the road. Anyone who thinks he can ride on a road anywhere close to the way it's safe to ride on the track is just plain nuts and will eventually end up severely maimed or DEAD. There are obstacles on our public roads, in quantity at that, which would never be allowed on a track during a race, and many of those are moving in all kinds of crazy ways. No "track day" or course of riding lessons can possibly prepare a rider for all the possibilities that could be encountered on the street. One reason is not all possibilities have happened, the world is a fluid place.
One last issue. Those parts you add to your bike do not increase it's value. If you want to recoup the value of your parts, take them off and see if you can find someone else who wants the same parts as you once did. All dealers and most knowlegeable riders laugh under their breath when you try to tell them how much more your motorcycle is worth because of the parts you added.
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